The Dubai-based integrated IT solutions company, Netlink L.L.C., today announced the roll out of a strategic regional expansion plan starting with opening a new office in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the largest IT market which accounts for over 40 per cent of the total IT spend in the region.
Netlink will base its operations in Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia and the new office will cater to the rapidly growing IT solutions and services market in the Kingdom, estimated to grow over 10 per cent annually.
Announcing the company’s foray into the Kingdom’s IT market, Mr. Akash Arora, Chief Technology Architect and CEO of Netlink L.L.C. said: “Our decision to have an official base in Saudi Arabia, where we already have business relations with leading companies, comes at a time when public spending in the Kingdom is set to rise exponentially in the backdrop of rising revenues.”
“Reportedly, Saudi Arabia’s public spending is set to increase by SR8 billion a year over the next eight years and some of it will translate into increased uptake of IT solutions and services in that market,” he said.
“Netlink, which has established itself as a leading player in the IT space of the region, is confident of increasing its business in the Kingdom with the establishment of the new office, bringing us closer to the market,” Mr. Arora said.
Commenting on the expansion into Saudi Arabia, Mr. S. Satyajit, Chief Strategy Officer of Netlink L.L.C., said: “A conservative estimate has put the annual IT spending in Saudi Arabia at over US$2 billion. In the Middle East, the Saudi market for Internet hardware, software, e-business and e-government services are the largest opening up tremendous growth potential for Netlink,” he said.
Mr. Satyajit said Netlink will also be exploring opportunities for implementing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) solutions in the Kingdom’s market. Netlink has recently unveiled its new RFID arm, Netlink RFID in the wake of the rising potential for radio frequency solutions in the regional market.
“We are confident of the immense potential for RFID solutions in the Saudi market since the Kingdom’s manufacturing sector is the largest in the region. Our RFID solutions will help enterprises in the Kingdom streamline their supply chain management enabling better real-time efficiency,” Mr. Satyajit said.
Netlink’s focus in the Saudi market will also include outsourcing, off shoring, web and technology integration and strategic marketing. The company presently has Saudi Aramco, Al Tayer Travels and Saudi Airline among others in its list of clients in Saudi Arabia. Netlink is a major player in the region’s outsourcing market and the company undertakes turnkey technology projects with the development done at its technology centers in India, the US and UK.
“According to an IDC study, growth possibilities are stronger for the next five years and spending on IT services alone will exceed US$300 million and US$1 billion by 2006 in the UAE and Saudi Arabia respectively. Netlink’s expertise and reputation as a quality player in the regional market will help us tap into this growing market successfully,” Mr. Satyajit said.
Quoting the IDC study further, he said that the Middle East IT services markets are now growing faster than the global markets with compound annual growth rates (CAGR) of 11 and 10.2 per cent for the UAE and Saudi Saudi Arabia respectively for the next five years. “We believe that it is the right time to step into the Saudi market with the growth potential on the upswing,” he added.
Apart from the Saudi office, Netlink has also an operational base in Bahrain. The company is also drawing up plans to move into other markets in the Gulf countries as part of its regional expansion plans.
